u/dylan95420

I’m planning to tackle replacing the cv axles on my wife’s 2008 Ford Taurus x this weekend. The old ones are clicking and popping pretty good.

It is hard to find info specifically for the Taurus X, but I’ve done a lot of research and am feeling confident. I full sent it and picked up a dewalt impact wrench to make my life easier. I’ve got all the parts. I’ve got new wheel hubs too because, why not.

Anyone have any good tips I might be overlooking? I’ll be doing this in my driveway. I plan to lift up one side at a time. I’ve heard some say to do it with both sides in the air. Should I go that route? Any thoughts on the easiest method to get the knuckle out of the way? I was thinking just undo the bolts on the strut and pry it down. I’d appreciate any wisdom.

I don’t mean to contributed to any doom and gloom about comms jobs, but I’m feeling kind of burnt out and want to vent.

I never dreamed of working in corporate communications. I feel like I just ended up here. My background is news media. I started out as a camera person at a tv station. I had my complaints about the place, but overall, it was great. I loved it.

Then, I met my now wife. She got a job on the other side of the country. So, I quit the tv station and packed my things. That was six years ago. In our new home, I’ve been able to job hop and get some good experience. I worked at a radio station, writing and reading the news. Then, I freelanced writing stories for the local paper. I built up my writing skills and was able to land a job as a communications officer for a local organization. I was so happy!

I did that for about a year when my boss quit. Suddenly, I was the acting comms manager. I ended up getting hired permanently for the job. Including me, there was three of us on the team. I did that for about three years and I started to see why my previous boss quit. Other mangers and directors were dropping like flies, leaving me to feel like the crazy one for not leaving.

I looked for a new job for over a year. I had a few interviews and got close, but nothing pulled through. Then, in November, I landed a manager level job at a hospital. The things is, i’m the whole comms team. It is crazy.

Even though I’m manager level, I feel like I’m doing director and executive level stuff. It was the same at my old job. They figure that it is just comms, you don’t need director experience to work at the top of the organization. And - you also need to do the officer level stuff. It is making me feel burnt out.

When I switched to my new job, I thought my feelings would go away, but they quickly came back.

I’m grateful for the financial stability this job provides. But, I feel a little overwhelmed. I see people on reddit talk about specializing in a certain area of comms and I wish that was me. Instead, I get to do everything.

I’m not sure what to do from here. Stick it out and try to make the place better? Try to move down the ladder? Start my own business? Go back to school? Anyone here successfully move out of comms? I still need to make good money, but it feels like golden handcuffs.

I’m scheduling some counselling appointments. I’ve never done that before. Maybe that is a good place to start?